Graduating from college this June - looking to invest in real estate

[Ryan Lam]

I will be graduating from college in June with no debt. I have around 60k saved up and have a job lined up. I have a couple questions.

Will I be able to get a mortgage?

Should I invest locally or oos? (located in Seattle)

If oos, what markets should i be looking at?

[Michael Haas]

@Ryan Lam - congrats on the success so far man! And thank you for the recommendation and kind words @Ryan Thomson

Househacking is 100% the way to go- we've done it 4 times personally, and helped nearly 100 clients in Seattle HouseHack...  it's definitely changed my family's financial life and the lives of our clients for the better! Here's a couple of tips for the Househack, feel free to direct message me to setup a call to learn more:

1. If you find a property with a second kitchen (ADU or MIL), be aware that 80% or more of those units have been built without permits. Not a deal breaker necessarily, but a risk to be aware of and mitigate.
2. Brush up on building code requirements: in basements you're looking for egress windows that are 5.7 sq feet or more openable (3ft by 3ft casement style windows work best), and ceiling heights 6ft 8 inches or greater (as little as 6 ft 4 inches is ok under ductwork and beams though)
2. Check the unrelated persons count in any city you're interested in. Seattle allows 8 unrelated persons in a rental house, unincorporated Snohomish County allows 6, but some cities allow as few as 3-4. House hacking financials get significantly stronger as you increase the bed count above 4, or add a ADU or separate dwelling unit. *This is more important if you're "renting by the room" with roommates than if you're "Renting by the unit" in a multifamily or a single family with your own private kitchen and entrance. Code Requirements fro Tacoma are here:
3. I've had success with cashflow rentals around Seattle by getting off the beaten path- there are established investors bidding up the price (and therefore compressing the cap rate) on many small multi-families, but those same investors are not going after large 5-9 bedrooms SFHs that you can househack by the room or split up with an ADU / MIL. Establishing a short term rental / airbnb in part of the home is another great way to maximize rental income.
4. There are first time homebuyer assistance programs like WSHFC that you can get into a house for pretty much just the closing costs- could be just $6k - $25k up front cash to close on a $500k house. If that house has a unfinished basement you can finish and rent out, or even just extra rent-able bedrooms, your mortgage payment will likely be significantly less than you currently pay for rent, + you reap all the tax benefits and forced savings effects of home-ownership.
If you have good credit, good W-2 income, and just a little bit of savings buying a house hack is a financial no-brainer. We started with this strategy in 2013 and nearly ten years later we have 13 properties in King County / Seattle and $15,000 / month of passive income profit - if you stick with it the results compound quickly!

Seattle may not be the most landlord friend city in the country, but we do have some of the most flexible zoning and development code for real estate investors and HouseHackers. We've HouseHacked 4 times in Seattle, and done many other projects (STR's, BRRRR's, Flips, ect) and the city is a great place to invest for appreciation, value add renovation projects, new construction, and HouseHacking. We have zoning that allows you to split certain lots (like RSL zoning) in half, or build additional dwelling units like DADU's on the property to quickly turn one 3% down househack into a 2-4 unit portfolio of rental properties.

If you have a letter of non-conditional employment and your first paystub you should be able to get a loan with most lenders - happy to introduce you to some good ones like @Albert Bui .  And seriously, message me anytime if you'd like to talk more about house-hacking, it's definitely changed my family's financial life and the lives of almost 100 of our clients for the better!

Cheers and good luck!